It’s now been a half-century since Parnelli Jones and his Mustang Boss 302 won the Trans Am race series. Racing fans will tell you that Ford clinched the SCCA Trans Am title on September 20, 1970, at Seattle International Raceway in Kent, Washington, and officially won the Championship on the following scheduled race on October 4, 1970, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. From that day on, Parnelli and the Boss 302 have been etched in Ford’s storied history. But was it winning the championship that has kept the Mustang Boss 302 so desirable for enthusiast buyers, or was it the car itself?

For Ron McAtee, it was the beauty and personality of the 1970 Mustang that he traces back to the first time he ever set eyes on one. Yes, today he owns this spectacular 1970 Mustang Boss 302, replete with its four-barrel Boss 302 V-8 that makes a published 290 horsepower at 5,800 RPM and puts its 290 foot-pounds of torque at 4,300 RPM through its wide-ratio four-speed manual transmission. But the real power of this car is the enchantment that it has held for Ron, as he explains to us in his email below:

“Hello Ford Performance! Here's the story behind my Boss 302: One of my fondest teenage memories is when I was 17. My dad and I went out searching for my next car, and we looked at numerous vehicles -- a couple of them being ‘70 Mustangs. We ended the search without purchasing a car. A few days later, my mom asked me to get something out of the garage. I went out and opened the manual-lift garage door, and sitting in the garage was a 1970 Mustang Sportroof in bright yellow with black interior! It was beautiful!

“I loved that car and, for the next 10 years, I drove it everywhere. In 1991, I fell on interesting times and ended up selling it for next to nothing because I needed the money to pay bills, and it was at a point of needing work that I couldn’t afford. I really regretted having to part with it. 

“Fast forward 28 years, and my obsession with 1970 Mustangs never went away. I looked at them on eBay and other websites every day. I mean every day! I am a very lucky man that my wife, Melady, supports my Mustang obsession, as crazy and expensive as it can be. I’m not sure what I’ve done to deserve all that support, but I’m very thankful and lucky, for sure. Yet, I still looked every day. They were always too far away to see, touch, hear run, or they were a mess -- requiring far more work than I was willing to take on.

“I once thought I bought an original-paint 1970 “R” Code Mustang Mach 1 in December of 2018, but a day after we agreed on a price, the owner decided to sell it for more. I won’t go into this story, but as crushing as it was at the time, it was a true blessing. Ironically, while at the Northern Utah Mustang Owners Association annual car show in 2019, I was talking with another club member with a beautiful 1969 Mach 1 and I told him the story of losing out on the Mach 1 that past December. He told me he had a friend whose sister had a 1970 Boss 302 for sale at a reasonable price. Of course, I did what anyone else would have done and asked if he had pictures.

“The car looked good and straight in the photos, so I asked if he could get me her phone number -- and before I left the show, I had her phone number. I was so excited! When I got home, I brought it up with Melady, and she was all-in, saying, “Call her now!” I did, and after about a week of negotiating, it landed in our garage.

“Before me, it sat in a garage for a long time, but its first car show out was Peach Days 2019, and it won the Mustang class with many other truly amazing and beautiful Mustangs in attendance. At its second car show it won the sponsor's choice award. The Marti Report on my car shows it is a 1-of-36 Boss 302 painted Calypso Coral with Vermilion Standard interior and a 1-of-2 configured the way it is from the factory. I’ve named my Boss “Melady” or “Me Lady” after my beautiful and supportive wife. Without her, this beauty would not be sitting in my garage today. I’m a lucky, lucky man!

“Our Mustang Boss 302 was restored in 2013-14, and the resulting work left it straight and as clean inside and underside as it is on the outside. It was restored to original, factory condition except for a set of long-tube headers. This car’s old-school muscle sounds incredible. It is like stepping back in time, and the car understandably gets attention everywhere it goes.”

How YOU can Get In The Spotlight: For the past decade, one of the most popular features on FordPerformance.com and in our weekly Fast News e-newsletter continues to be "Ford Fan Spotlight," where readers can send in their own reasons why they're fans of Ford Motor Company and its vehicles. You know who they are: Ford "superfans;" grassroots Ford racers; unique Ford vehicle owners; loyal Ford enthusiasts; notable Ford club people; special Ford families; and/or any avid supporter of Ford, Ford vehicles, Ford motorsports or Ford Performance who deserves a little bit of special recognition.

All you need to do to get you, your car or candidate considered is to send in a brief description (200-500 words or less) and a few photos (in .jpeg format, preferably around 1 mb in size) with the owner’s full name and hometown, please. Just tell us about the vehicle(s) and why you think Ford Performance should feature it (them) in the "Ford Fan Spotlight" for an upcoming installment of Fast News as well as for posting on FordPerformance.com. Then email it to: ClubHub@Ford.com with your contact info. Should you wish to send a video, you simply need to post it on www.YouTube.com (preferably 1-2 minutes long) and send in the link, along with a brief description, to that same ClubHub@Ford.com email address. Your submission allows us the rights to use your words and images (along with any edits) for editorial purposes; we’ll choose one submission in random order each week to post online. We hope to see YOU and your Ford in our Spotlight soon!